SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's decision to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Tuesday granted a request by California and other plaintiffs to prevent President Donald Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while their lawsuits play out in court.

DACA has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. It includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the program would be phased out. The move sparked a flurry of lawsuits nationwide.